Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center was founded in 1974 in San Francisco. It had a storefront in the Mission District during the 1970s and 1980s. By the mid-1990s, it was housed at the New College of California

New College of California

New College of California was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President, Father John Leary. After 37 years, it ceased operations in early 2008....

 on Valencia and in the year 2000 it relocated to the San Francisco campus of the California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...

.

Small Press Traffic has served many communities of writers and readers with a long-running focus on New Narrative fiction and Language Poetry as well as a devotion to queer literature.

Past directors include Robert Gluck, Dodie Bellamy

Dodie Bellamy

Dodie Bellamy is an American novelist, nonfiction author, journalist and editor. Her work is frequently associated with that of Dennis Cooper, Kathy Acker, and Eileen Myles...

, Jocelyn Saidenberg, Elizabeth Treadwell, and Dana Teen Lomax. Important board members have included Kevin Killian, Edith Jenkins, John Norton

John Norton

John Norton may refer to:*John Norton, 5th Baron Grantley , British peer and numismatist*John Norton , Victorian Gothic revivalist, remodelled Tyntesfield*John Norton , Olympic medalist...

, Mary Margaret Sloan, Stan Hutton, Brent Cunningham, and Stephanie Young. The current director is Samantha Giles.